Harris English and Kramer Hickok dueled deep into the afternoon Sunday at the 2021 Travelers Championship. After tying in regulation at 13 under par, the players met at the 18th tee to begin a sudden-death playoff that looked like it might never end. Eight attempts at the 18th hole lasting 2½ hours was finally halted with a holed birdie putt by Harris English. This victory gave the 31-year-old the Travelers Championship on Sunday for his second victory of the season and his fourth career win.
English said, “It was a battle on the back nine. My putter kept me in it and the playoff as well. I made some solid putts and was very confident. I put some extra work in on the putting this morning because I knew how crucial some of the putts were going to be, and it came through for me.”
English, who becomes the fifth multiple winner on the PGA Tour this year, had been trending in his last two outings. At the Palmetto Championship at Congaree, he was in the final pairing on Sunday with 54-hole leader Chesson Hadley and at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, English climbed 11 spots on the leaderboard with a final-round 68 to finish third.
Had Hickok won, it could have completely transformed his career. However, the runner-up finish will go a long way toward enabling the 29-year-old to lock up his playing privileges for the next season. “I learn(ed) that I belong,” Hickok said. “You can always tell yourself that, but until you’re — I could have easily won today. It’s just keep my head up, keep my chin up and take what I learned from today and keep battling and go next week and see what happens.”
The playoff on Sunday was the second-longest playoff in PGA Tour history. Here’s the list:
11 holes – 1949 Motor City Open (Lloyd Mangrum and Cary Middlecoff declared co-champions due to darkness)
8 holes – 2021 Travelers Championship (Harris English defeated Kramer Hickok)
8 holes – 2012 Mayakoba Golf Classic (John Huh defeated Robert Allenby)
8 holes – 1983 Phoenix Open (Bob Gilder defeated Rex Caldwell, Johnny Miller and Mark O’Meara)
8 holes – 1981 Quad Cities Open (Dave Barr defeated Woody Blackburn, Frank Conner, Dan Halldorson and Victor Regalado)
8 holes – 1978 Greater Milwaukee Open (Lee Elder defeated Lee Trevino)
8 holes – 1965 Azalea Open Invitational (Dick Hart defeated Phil Rodgers)